First Team
Matches
Sat 10 Aug 2019  ·  Division One
Fleet Spurs Football Club
First Team
A Smith (9'), (25'), (82'), J Olweny (78')
4
2
Godalming Town
M Cadle (87' OG)
Fleet Spurs 4 Godalming Town 2 (Combined Counties League Division 1)

Fleet Spurs 4 Godalming Town 2 (Combined Counties League Division 1)

James Simms10 Aug 2019 - 21:01
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Smith smashes hat-trick in impressive win!

Fleet Spurs 4 Godalming Town 2 (Combined Counties League Division 1)

The game took place at Kennels Lane in a strong and gusty wind, particularly in the first half, and the pitch was dry and bobbly. Unsurprisingly, neither side was able to master the conditions as they would have liked, though both tried to play constructive football throughout. Overall, the play was fairly even, with the main difference being Spurs’ sharper finishing, especially by Andre Smith, who was making his first start for the club. The Godalming defence were never able to counter the speed and firepower of the young striker, who finished with a well-deserved hat-trick

The game started with neither side able to establish control, though Godalming were playing the more fluent football. However, Smith gave Fleet the lead in the tenth minute, hammering a powerful shot past Jordan Knight, giving the keeper no chance. The Gs continued to play the more controlled football, but it was Smith who got the next goal, smashing another right-foot shot past Knight. For all their possession, the visitors rarely looked likely to score.

In the second half, Spurs started to look after the ball better, and it was ironical that the goal that came three minutes after the break went to the visitors, Joe Lewis making no mistake from the spot after James Scott was judged to have fouled Godalming striker Oliver Stevens in the box. Over the next half-hour, Spurs gradually gained an ascendancy without really threatening the Town goal, though the Gs were unlucky when a close-range header hit the post and bounced conveniently into the arms of home keeper Mike Cadle. Then with quarter of an hour to goal, a Spurs substitution gained an immediate result. Last week, the super-sub was Andre Smith; today it was Jamil Olweny. Four minutes after coming on, he received the ball just outside the visitors’ box and placed a low shot precisely inside the far post. A few minutes later, Smith completed his hat-trick, this time dinking a left-foot shot past Knight. There was still time for Godalming to claim a consolation goal, the luck of the rebound this time falling to them as a close-range header came off the bar against Cadle and trickled into the net, despite desperate attempts by the Spurs defence to clear.

After two games, Fleet are in third position, equal on points to the teams above them. It’s too early to draw any conclusions about their eventual league position, but it represents an encouraging start. The good news is that they have scored nine goals in those two games; the bad news that they have conceded five. Their next game is on Saturday, when they visit the palatial surroundings of the Surrey FA HQ at Meadowbank Football Ground to meet Dorking Wanderers Reserves (kick-off 3.00).

Spurs team: Mike Cadle, Max Billingham (sub Jack Billingham 84), Louis Lindsay, Douglas Noble, Naman Nasir, Liam Jupp, Jamil Saleh, James Scott, Andre Smith, Adam Bellmaine (capt), Lee Bush (sub Jamil Olweny 70)

Match details

Match date

Sat 10 Aug 2019

Kickoff

15:00

Meet time

13:30

Location

Attendance

30

Competition

Division One

League position

3
Fleet Spurs
17
Godalming Town
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